Timothy Ropp

Timothy D. Ropp

Associate Professor - Aeronautical Engineering Technology

Biography

Professor Ropp has over 18 years experience in industry, working and managing technical operations and educational development in risk-sensitive high-technology industries. His research focus areas are: Technology innovations for Advanced Aerospace Manufacturing and Next Generation air vehicle lifecycle management; Safety Risk Management for aerospace and airport surface operations. Professor Ropp has served on the Federal Aviation Administration's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) Institute through the Joint Planning and Development Office in Washington, D.C. (2008-2010) as a safety working group member, and has researched and presented on safety risk management systems around the world. He has developed and deployed safety management systems, quality management system and human factors leadership training in several industry sectors including work with the U.S. Navy’s Undersea Weapons facility at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and some of the largest aviation MRO and Air Carrier organizations in North America.

Professor Ropp heads the Hangar of the Future Research Laboratory at Purdue, focusing on novel technology innovations for air vehicle MRO and advanced aerospace manufacturing processes. His award winning and highly collaborative undergraduate and graduate student research teams are routinely published, are invited presenters at conferences and technology demonstrations around the industry, and have patent disclosures on key projects. His student teams have have won and placed in FAA National Design Competitions on air vehicle/airport operation technologies impacting safety and efficiency, and in February 2015 were co-winners of Boeing's Information Technology National Design competition for their design of a software application for man-made object recognition over complex terrain using Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) point cloud data.

Ropp's Hangar of the Future lab and students have been featured in Aviation Week and Space Technology, Popular Mechanics magazine and most recently were featured on the national Big Ten Network in January 2015. His students are also routinely invited to demonstrate their project work and talk to new students and families during recruiting days on campus.

Industry Engagement:

Professor Ropp routinely engages with global aerospace and air transportation companies. He is known for involving students directly in a variety of hand-on process, safety and technology integration projects where students themselves present to industry leaders and at conferences, demonstrate prototypes, submit for patents and publish their findings. He also invites industry leaders into the classroom to talk first hand about current state of the industry.